


such heavy burdens for such young hands to carry

by AngelycDevil



Series: Project RECOVERY [1]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Feelings, Gen, Guilt, Hallucinations, Implied Violence, Mama's boy, Medical Language, PSTD, Steve gets kidnapped, Team Love, The Team is Family, Tony Is a Good Bro, Torture tw, blood tw, mention of Sarah Rogers and Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-03
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-10-14 12:52:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10536852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelycDevil/pseuds/AngelycDevil
Summary: It doesn't hit them until now just how young Steve is and just how long he has lived.





	

They find him in sub-basement C, incoherent, unconscious, dripping more fluids onto the floor and down the drain than anyone wants to see and Tony can’t breathe because the only way they know for sure it’s him is the silver star that’s still on his chest.

Natasha takes one look at him and storms off, holstering her guns and pulling out her knives. Clint follows her, calling out that he’ll bring the quinjet closer.

Tony and Thor exchange a wary look before approaching the table.

“Steve?” Thor calls out gently and there’s no response despite Steve’s stuttering breaths.

“JARVIS, run vitals.” Tony lowers his faceplate and gags at the scents that assault him. Breathing lower, “Cap! Steve!” he tries in a louder voice, closer.

Steve’s mouth falls open a little wider and his eyes flutters as they move.

“Steve, can you hear me?”

Steve’s head lolls to Tony’s head, but other than that, he doesn’t give other indications to his attention.

“Sir, Captain Rogers’ heart rate is at one hundred and forty beats per minute, his breathing at thirty breaths per minutes and his core body temperature is dropping as we speak. I have catalogued six major breaks and several contusions. It would be in his best interest to get to a hospital as soon as possible, sir.”

“How much can I move him?”

“It would be better if he remains on the table, Sir. There is a 76% possibility that moving him will puncture his lung.”

Tony swallows hard and takes a deep breath. “Alright, big guy, looks like it’s you an’ me. You grab near his head, I’ll grab by his feet and I’ll fly him out.”

Thor nods and gently lifts the table by Steve’s head.

“Alright, Steve. We are gonna get you outta here and Brucie-bear is gonna take a good look at you and get you all better, alright?” Tony babbles because if words don’t come gushing out his mouth, actual vomit might.

“We may have to call in Dr. Cho as well,” Thor suggests.

“Already done, Thunder,” Clint replies into their earpieces. “You want me on the ground or hovering, Tones?”

“Hovering should be good. I don’t wanna jolt him too much and the ground’s uneven.”

“Sure thing, boss.”

Tony grabs the table and gently thrusts off the ground and flies backward. Between him and Thor, they manage to get him on the quinjet without much movement and Bruce is set up in the med bay.

He clenches his teeth when he gets a good look at Steve, going a little green on the edges and Thor steps in to fit the oxygen mask. Bruce exhales sharply. “Sorry. JARVIS informed me, I just…”

“I know, Bruce,” Tony replies.

Bruce meets his eyes for a frozen moment before taking a deep breath and getting to business. Tony steps backward until he hits a wall and slides down, suit and all, and pointedly ignores the way the metal digs into his skin. Natasha joins them in a few minutes, her entire right side covered in blood and smile on her face. Thor nods in welcome and no one says a word as the quinjet sets route back home.

After a few minutes, Tony gets up and starts assisting Bruce, shedding his suit. They work in tandem over their Captain who still hasn’t reacted to noise and try not to _think._ Bruce fixes Steve as much as he can and then sinks to the floor beside the table. Tony joins him and they stay that way for an hour before Steve’s breathing changes—a sharp intake followed by a low moan. They’re on their feet, Bruce adjusting the levels and Tony trying to get Steve’s attention.

Steve blinks wearingly at Tony’s voice, actually focusing on his voice no matter how little. Thor joins them on the other side and Steve follows his movement, his blood-crusted eyebrows furrowing deeply.

Steve takes a deep breath and then another before his blue eyes widen. “ _Ma?_ ”

Thor pauses and looks up at Bruce worriedly.

“It’s normal. His memories, his perception isn’t normal yet,” Bruce replies after a moment. He moves around Steve slower after that, every movement precise and controlled. Tony leans his head on Bruce’s shoulder as Thor takes Steve’s hand.

With a tight smile, Thor says, “yes, Steven. I’m here.”

All the tension in his face melts and Steve’s smiles blissfully and it’s a shot in the gut just how _young_ he looks at that moment. “Ma. It hurts.” His lips wobble, struggling to form words and breathe at the same time. Tears well up in his blue eyes and slide down the side of his face. “I…it hurts…to…breathe.”

Thor pets Steve’s forearm calmly. “I know, Steven,” he replies in a warm voice, devoid of any of the tension his face betrays. “It’ll stop hurting soon. I promise.”

“Is…Bucky ‘ere?”

“Um.” Tony nods and makes a gesture of walking with his fingers. “Yes, he is on his way…from the store.”

Steve’s face splits into a smile again and turns to look at Thor intently. “I…I know…you’re…not real, Ma. But if you—if you see…him, tell ‘im to stay. Tell ‘im not to…go to war, ‘kay? Tell ‘im to stay…promise.” Steve’s face crumples. “You gotta…protect ‘im. I can’t. You hav…hafta.”

“Of course, Steven. I’ll let him know.”

Steve nods languidly and closes his eyes again. Thor remains by his side, their fingers intertwined.

“He carries such burdens for a young soul.” Thor reaches up to stroke his hair.

“Thirty,” Tony blurts out. “He’s only…thirty. I…JARVIS, I want to you start a new project, RECOVERY.”

“And what shall we be recovering, Sir?”

“Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes.”

“Sir—”

“It’s not impossible. I know it’s been a while, but this is the best thing we can do for him. We have to find his friend. Get him some closure or whatever they call it.”

“Tony.” Nat appears beside him. “I hope you’re aware that this mission is the same as—”

“—as my father’s? Yes, I know. But, Nat, he’s still broken up over it. I can’t bring his mother back, but I can find his friend. No one ever did. He needs this. JARVIS, compile and catalogue all known information about Barnes. Try and find his medical records, that’ll help identifying him. Then compute a perimeter with the weather patterns near his last known location in the Alps.” Tony takes a deep breath. “We’re gonna get Cap his friend back.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you want more, please drop an ask at our [tumblr](https://imaginesteverogerss.tumblr.com/message).


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